Enigma
by Thu-Tien
Summary: It's been one year since the last tournament- but there's going to be different rules this time. Kai and Rei are partners, will something change between them?
1. Chapter 1

"I can't believe it's been a year since I've seen the Blade Breakers," Tyson thought as he waved good-bye to his grandfather and stepped out of the car. His grandfather rolled down the window and reminded him to call him when everyone's arrived. Tyson took out his cell phone, tired that he was told this once before. He watched as the car drove away and then focused his eyes to the rather large airport in front of him.

"Do you need any help?"

"Huh? Oh…" A lady a the desk had just noticed him. "I'm looking for…" at this Tyson pulled out a ticket and pointed to a number next to the word "flight".

"Flight 198? That's from America, isn't it?"

"Yeah. I'm meeting my friend at the arrivals."

"The arrivals are down that way, "she pointed her arm to the right, " then follow the sign that says "Gate 4". The plane should be here," she then checked her watch, "in a few minutes."

"Thanks," Tyson said politely as he took back his paper and headed in the direction the lady had pointed to. He had written down each of the flight numbers when he had gotten word from his friends what plane they were on.

"Flight 198 is now boarding," the announcement rang out. "The next flight to America will be in one hour."

"Alright! Max is coming!" Tyson thought to himself as he was watching the numerous people depart from the plane. He was not allowed near where the people where leaving, but he was a fairly close distance away- well, at least enough to see the passengers. Suddenly he spotted a forgettable color of blonde hair.

The blue- haired boy smiled widely as his friend walked out from the departures. "Tyson!" the other boy waved as he saw his long time partner.

"Maxie!" Tyson shouted and, despite such, rushed forward to hug his team member. "Man, you wouldn't have believed how boring it was without you!" Tyson said, ruffling his friend's hair and now started to ramble about the things he had been doing and, again, how boring it had been without him there to talk to.

Max laughed. "Haha. I've missed you too Tyson. Hope you've been well?" he asked, though Tyson had already told him.

"Yeah. Dragoon, too, see?" Tyson took out his blade, the center pieces looked like it was brand new. "Oh. Kenny gave Dragoon a new tune up. It should be able to go even faster then before. I haven't tried it out yet, though."

Max smiled. "Come on. We should get something to eat. Rei's plane won't be arriving until much later."

"Uh? I forgot." Tyson's stomach rumbled. "I had to skip breakfast to meet you here…"

"I think I read about a restaurant in the airport brochure, but I'm not sure where it is. " Seeing Tyson's disappointed face, he added, "Though I saved you my breakfast on the airplane. I'm not sure whether it's good or not…"

Tyson thanked him profusely then ate the apple and ham and eggs sandwich as they were walking to the chairs in the waiting area. An hour passed and Rei's plane was arriving.

"Rei! Over here!" Tyson and Max called out to him once they saw him coming through the doorway. Tyson jumped up and down, waving at the Chinese boy.

"Hey, guys!" Rei greeted. "How have you been? Practicing for this year's tournament?"

"Yeah! Dragoon is a lot stronger then last time," Tyson repeated.

"Dracal too."

"That good to hear." Rei looked around. "Is Kai getting something to eat?"

"Uhh… He hasn't arrived yet..." Tyson said. "If he did we would have seen him."

"That's weird…"

"Why?" Max asked, hearing Rei's statement.

"I checked the flight schedule. He was supposed to be here before me…"

"Maybe the flight was delayed," Max suggested.

As he finished this statement, the announcement came on. "Flight 67 was delayed due to weather condition. It will be arriving two hours behind schedule."

"Hehe. Talk about timing," Tyson said as he took out his blade and started to shine it with his shirt.

"Rei, how long was Kai's flight before yours?"

Rei smiled, rubbing his behind his head. "Umm… If I remember right, about two hours before me…"

"So he left the same time as you? That means we only have to wait half an hour until he comes- since his flight takes a bit longer than yours, Rei," Max calculated.

"Well, let's get something to eat," Rei suggest when he saw how hungry Tyson looked.

"Hmm… I think we should wait until Kai gets here," Max said teasingly.

"I think you have a point. It wouldn't be fair if we ate before Kai did…"

"Uh? What? But I'm hungry!" Tyson wailed and rushed them into telling him if they had any food.

"We're just kidding! Don't worry. There's a food court that way," Rei said, pointing to his right. "But it's a far walk."

"Let's _go_ already!" Tyson said, pushing two of his friends in the direction Rei pointed to.

"Wow… I can't believe there are so many stores in such a small airport."

"The trick is it know how to buy the products," Rei told Max as they headed inside the store that said "Souvenirs".

"What do you mean?" Tyson asked, taking another bite of his candy bar that Max had bought for him so he would get too hungry.

"That the farther you down you get from the main entrance is where the same products in this store is about a few cents cheaper in the other stores down there," Rei finished, pointing his hand down the carpeted floor.

Rei walked over to a stand of key chains. "Like these. Here it costs a two dollars, but down there it is probably going to cost one dollar."

"Two dollars?" Max asked. "Isn't that a bit expensive?"

"Yeah, I suppose. But then it does say "Japan". People pay big for things that say where they're going."

"Hey, guys! Look at this cool clock!" Tyson said, pulling Max- Rei following- to the item hanging above the register

The clock had one of the most unique designs. The flowers around the frame and a picture of Japan's lake during the Spring time as the background gave it the perfect souvenir gift.

"Wait a minute…" Rei said, looking curious.

He turned around looking for the owner or someone who works here.

"Excuse me," he said finally spotting a girl. "Is that the correct time on the clock?"

"Uh… no," the girl said, looking at her wrist watch. "It's behind five minutes."

"Guys… Kai's plane came ten minutes ago!"

"What?" Tyson, Max, and Rei ran out the store and to the gate number where Kai was supposed to be landing in.

"Now. We should be looking for someone who has a white scarf about his neck, right?"

"Right," Max and Tyson said.

All three began to look at the people passing by, all seeming to be walking from Gate 3.

"Max! Rei!" Tyson called to them. "I think I found him…"

Rei tilted his head when they had all grouped together to meet their last team member.

"Heh. I was looking around for a white scarf."

Indeed, the older boy wasn't wearing his scarf. He had chosen a new outfit that was a purple sleeveless shirt with the two shoulder straps hanging loosely and horizontally from his shoulders.

Kai looked at Rei and adjusted his sports bag over his bare shoulder. "I didn't feel like wearing it."

"Well.. I like the new look. I think," Tyson commented. "But that was like your trademark. Why did you get rid of it?"

"Because it was a gift from my grandfather."

Everyone remained silent. They all remembered what happened last year- Kai was forced to work for his grandfather to capture the other three legendary bit beasts. _Their_ bit beast.

"Kai…" Max started to say for words of comfort.

"Enough. Are we going to Tyson's?"

"Uh. Yeah. I almost forgot." Tyson reached into his pocket to call his grandfather. "Oh, man… My cell phone!"

"What do you mean?" Max asked. "Did you get pick pocketed?"

"Don't just stand there! Help me look for where I dropped it!" Tyson said, looking around at the floor as to where he and his teammates stood. He obviously was trying not to mention the word "pick pocketed".

Max held his teammate at his shoulders. "Tyson. Calm down. The best way is the go to the front desk and wait to see of someone turns it in."

"If it wasn't stolen," Kai added.

"Kai…" Rei and Max moaned once they saw Tyson face turn into one of panic.

"No way!" Tyson shook his head. "No stupid kid could take something from me! Maxie's right. I need to calmly find it. Come on!"

"Thanks for the words of support, Kai," Rei said, walking next to his friend- stating to the older boy's previous comment.

They arrived at the desk and Tyson asked the woman who had helped him earlier if someone turn in a lost cell phone.

"No, sorry. You should try asking around. If you ask some of the store owners, I'm sure they'll tell you if they've seen anything."

"There won't be any need for that," a voice said from behind.

The Blade Breakers turned around.

The boy smiled and showed Tyson what was in his hand.

"Who are- Hey! Thanks!" Tyson said, running towards the boy, noticing mid-way of his sentence that the boy had his phone, and taking the cell phone from the outstretched hand. Tyson flipped open the lid and started to play around with his phone. "Good, it's the same way I'd left it," Tyson said as he turned his phone in his hand for any scratches or dents.

"Wait a minute… Aren't you Tyson of the Blade Breakers?" the boy asked, peering at Tyson closely.

"Yeah, I am," Tyson said proudly, flashing a grin at him.

"Okay then. I want a battle! Winner gets your bit beast!" The boy took out his blade, showing that his center piece was a water bit beast like Tyson's.

"Are you serious!"

Max and the others ran towards their team mate.

"Look, kid. If you want a battle, then go join the Beyblade tournament like everyone else."

"Kai…"Tyson said. "Yeah! Get lost! We don't have time right now!" Tyson said harshly, but as everyone was passing him and the other boy, Tyson added as an after thought, "Thanks for find my phone though."

The boy just stood there, dumbstruck.

Max waited for Tyson to catch up with him before asking, "Do you think he really wanted to take our bit beast?"

"I don't know, but I'm never giving up Dragoon."

After calling his grandfather and arriving back to his temple like home, Tyson waited for his friends to comment.

"Wow, Tyson…"

"We can finally see what your floor looks like," Rei said jokingly.

"Yeah, well. I had a lot of free time. So! Let me make us some lunch!" Tyson rubbed his hands together. Kai, who was behind everyone else, finally came in and dropped his bag on the floor. Kai looked around, his eyes settling on Rei and then to Max.

"Umm… I'll go help you prepare…" Max suggested, remembering the horrible accident that occurred last time Tyson was alone in the kitchen.

"Thanks, Maxie. You guys stay here- or you can go upstairs to check your room. " Tyson started to walk away with Max following behind when Tyson suddenly stopped.

"Oh yeah… I forgot. Umm I had three rooms ready for you guys last summer, but Grandpa needed it for storage."

"So we don't have rooms to sleep in?" Rei asked in disbelief.

"What? Of course you do! He only used one of the rooms!"

Max looked confused. "So we're going to share rooms, then?"

This was when Tyson smiled widely, suddenly realizing. "Yeah! We're teammates and now we're going to be roommates! I get a room with Maxie!" Tyson shouted, pointing his thumb over to his yellow- haired friend.

"Heh. Alright then," Max agreed, smiling too at his energetic friend.

"But- " Rei started to say.

"Don't worry, Rei," Tyson tried to comfort. "Me and Max are good friends. That is just what you and Kai need to be too. You know, for the next tournament." It had so casual that at first Rei didn't notice. But apparently, Kai did.

"What are you talking about?" Kai asked harshly, understanding immediately that this wasn't just about being roommates. "Do you have information on the next match?"

"Umm… about that…" Tyson said, giving them a guilty smile. "The battle will be fought with two people. So," Tyson looked at Rei and then at Kai," say 'hi' to your new partner."

"WHAT?"

_xxxxx_

Please Review!


	2. Chapter 2

"Now, listen Tyson. Don't you think it would be better if Kai was your partner?" Rei tried to reason. "I mean, he does have more experience."

"Are you actually admitting that I'm better than you?" Kai teased, looking very smug once he saw Rei whip around to face him.

"No way! I meant that he knows you better." Rei turned back to Tyson, Max watching to see how Tyson would settle this. It wasn't like he had any problem with Tyson and Kai being partners. He was certain that Rei and him working together would be just as fine. Kai and Rei? That was a different story. They never seemed to get along…

"Seriously, you can't disagree that you and Kai make a better tag-team battle rather then with me and Kai."

Tyson shrugged, appearing to not be very concerned. "Well, I do agree. But once you think about it, me and Max- no offence- are really good friends and I never actually got to battle along side him. It seems you and Kai are always trying to avoid each other. It's not a good way to act around team members…"

"Ah…" Rei was going to argue, but then decided against it. Tyson had a point- a small one- but nonetheless, a point.

Kai, who was leaning casually at the door frame, spoke irritably.

"Hn. Max. Tyson. Go get lunch ready. Tomorrow we're going to get an early start for practice, so make sure to retire early tonight."

"Alright, Captain," Tyson and Max said as they both headed into the kitchen.

"Hmph." Rei walked next to Kai and sat down parallel to the wall and closed his eyes.

Through his meditation, Rei could hear parts or Tyson's and Max's conversation. He couldn't put it together though.

"Not that one! It's salt!"

"Wha? Whoops…?"

"Tyson…!"

"Hey, you scared me! Yelling at me like that!"

The last part he hear in a quieter tone, but could still make out.

"Rei and Kai won't know if I add more sugar to out measure to salt… Shh…."

"Hehe. Good idea…"

"Shh!"

Rei opened his eyes, looking up. Kai wasn't there.

Oh! Now he remembered! He stood up, stumbling slightly due to his position in the past… hour?

He carried his suitcase up stairs and opened one of the doors. Some boxes came tumbling down from the top of the room. Rei looked around, grateful that the box hadn't caused anyone to come upstairs. Suddenly one of the boxes opened and (what seemed to be) albums and books fell out.

'Hmm… This must be the room that Tyson's Grandfather used to store his things.'

He put down his suitcase and put everything back into the box when he saw a book (rather an album) labeled "The Blade Breakers".

Rei smiled and was about to look inside it when Kai appeared from one of the rooms behind him. "Need any help?"

Rei nearly dropped the book when he heard him- not noticing when he came upstairs that the door was opened and Kai was sitting on his bed reading. "Yeah, could you help me put these boxes back up there?" Rei asked, recovering and pointing to the top point of the stacked boxes.

"Up there? Fine- since I _am_ taller."

"You just always have to start something, don't you?"

"If it makes you feel better, yeah."

Rei stuck out his tongue playfully and once finished putting everything back, tried to pick up the container.

"Wha?" Rei said unconsciously., surprised at the weight, and dropped the box heavily on the ground. "I didn't even know it was that heavy…."

"I'm sure if we pick up together, then we could pick it up."

"Okay."

They both positioned themselves on either side of the box . Surprisingly, the box had lifted and the weight was more bearable.

"Well, thanks," Rei said politely and was about to pick up his suit case when Kai stopped him. "Didn't you forget something?"

"Huh?" Rei asked.

"That book. Were you going to read it?" Kai repeated, glancing carelessly at the book in Rei's hand.

"Oh…" Rei looked down into his hand, he forgot to put the book back and had unconsciously pick it up before his suitcase.

"I –er- forgot I left this on the ground…" Rei said, thinking of only that excuse.

Kai turned his attention to the stairs and for a moment Rei thought he didn't buy his explanation.

"Rei! Kai!" It was Max who was running up the stairs. "Lunch is served!" Max put on a cherry smile, his glance, like Kai 's, focusing on the book in Rei's hand.

"Nice book. Did you bring it to read?"

"No… It's Tyson's."

"Oh. Okay, then." The blonde looked confused and curious at the same time.

"Yo, Max! Is everyone coming down to eat?" Tyson asked as he was ascending the stairs.

"No, Tyson. Umm…. Why don't you go downstairs and put the fried rice into bowls for me, okay?" Max said hurriedly, like he didn't want Tyson to see them all up here together.

"Well, if it make you feel better…" Tyson replied, walking back into the kitchen.

At that instant, Rei suddenly realized that Tyson had repeated exactly what Kai had said to him.

"You can go down first," Rei said directly to Max, something more out of habit that Kai _must_ have already gone down with Tyson.

"Our room is the one with my suitcase in it."

"Ah..!" Rei turned quickly around, then sighed in an irritated way. "I thought you were downstairs already."

"I didn't know I couldn't wait here for a while."

Rei scratched his cheek sheepishly. "Sorry," he quickly apologized, "I'm just still used to you always leaving when I turn my back."

Rei walk pass his older teammate and put his suitcase on the floor next to the unoccupied bed (since Kai's was marked by his bookmarked book laying on top of the bed.) He didn't even notice that he had told Kai something very personal.

Rei looked out the window. The sun was already going down. Rei looked at it serenely until the thought came up that he had been going on the whole day without food. "I guess this lunch is going to be dinner. Just go head downstairs, Kai," he called over his shoulder but when he didn't receive an answer, he turned around for the seventh time that day.

"Gone. I knew I was right…"

Rei laid Tyson's book into his bed. He didn't really know why he still had it… Come to think of it, he hadn't even opened it yet either.

Before going down to eat (very sure that everyone was waiting for him) , he open the book for a quick peek. It was an album. There was a picture of Kai, Max, and himself. Of course that would explain why he had labeled this "Blade Breakers". It was a fairly thick one, unusual that Tyson would take his spare time to organize it and put it together. Deciding that it was better to look at it later, he (still not knowing why) put the book underneath his bed sheets and pat it to make sure that everyone passing by wouldn't notice a lump on his bed.

He arrived downstairs in good time, seeing as how he ran down. "Hi, guys. Hope you haven't been waiting too long?"

"Heh. Tyson couldn't wait…" Max said, pointing towards the blue haired youth, who had his bowl nearly half gone.

"Sorry. I didn't know that Tyson had being eating passed his first bowl," Rei apologized and took his seat on the floor next to Kai. He pick up his chopstick and began to eat, grateful that no one questioned his whereabouts. But, he hadn't really expected them to since they all had a mutual agreement to respect each other's privacy.

"My _first_ bowl?" Tyson asked, putting a heavy emphasis on the word 'first'. "This is my third!"

"Ah?" Rei blinked at him, but smiled after a moment.

"I'm surprised," Kai said from beside him. "The people who cook the food are never the one's to eat more… Unless you're willing to say, Max, that Tyson _didn't_ spill that whole container of salt into the pot."

"Uh…? How did you know?" Max said after a while of deciding whether or not Kai really had anything against his case.

"Wait. Was that what you were yelling at Tyson for?" Rei interrupted.

"Well, no point in talking about that, you guy!" Tyson said, guiltily hiding his mistake.

Rei and Kai stared that him accusingly. At this point, Tyson said, "Besides, Max already put in the sugar to outweigh the salt. Nothing to worry about."

Kai stood up and walked back into the kitchen. Several minutes passed by and everyone wondered where he went.

Rei perked up when Kai came back- with a bowl of ramen in his hands.

"I want some too!" Rei said, pushing the bowl of rice towards the center and grabbing his chopsticks once Kai took his seat and put the bowl down.

"Sorry, Max, but you're suppose to be the good cook. I'd rather eat some ramen."

"Wait a minute…" Max said slowly, directing his question to Tyson, 'Did you seem to forget that you had ramen left over?" Max added more angrier, "And we didn't have to go through all this trouble!"

"Well, Maxie… I had so much leftover food so we had to make fried rice. It would have been a waste to throw it out." Then Tyson added, "Plus Kai made the last bowl."

"How did you know there was ramen in Tyson's kitchen?" Max queried, forgetting that he was partly mad at Tyson, but not the one to hold a long grudge.

Kai shrugged. "His grandpa always keeps his own stash of food _somewhere_."

"Hn." Rei smiled. "I'm definitely not letting Kai get the last ramen."

"Well, if you think I'm going to give you the last bowl, then you're wrong."

"Not give it me," Rei said, "but let me share." At the last part of his sentence, Rei put his chopsticks into Kai's ramen and scooped a huge chunk out of the plastic bowl- a futile attempt to get that whole thing in his mouth.

"Eugh," Kai said, making a face, "Fine, scoot over and we'll split it."

Rei smiled widely and dropped the contents hanging from his chopsticks back into the bowl.

Kai sat quietly afterwards and ate in small portions while Rei, not wanting to be finished with his side first, ate slower. Tyson had begun to eat yet another bowl while Max started to clean up.

XXXX

Hope you liked it! This was just another chapter where they all finally get to relax and enjoy before the tournament.

Oh, I also wanted to say that this story isn't yaoi. It is purely in friendship terms. I hope that doesn't disappoint too many of you…

As a final note: Please Review!


	3. Chapter 3

_XXXX_

Rei walked back slowly to his room after taking a shower. He was partly surprised to see Kai inside, but remember a split second later that Kai was his roommate.

He was hoping to look at more of the pictures inside Tyson's album, but seeing Kai in the same room and the possibility of him asking why he still had the book wasn't something he wanted to answer at the moment. Rei walked pass his teammate's bed and as Kai was reading his book, Rei gave a quick glance at him. After making sure that Kai wasn't watching, he sliding the book quickly over to the other side where he wasn't going to be laying and slid in between the mattress and the blankets.

Rei tried to go to sleep, but with the light on his teammate's side still on, he found it hard to.

"We have training tomorrow, don't we?" Rei asked as an attempt to converse with Kai. Plus to give him a hint to turn off his light.

"Yeah. Is this an attempt to tell me to turn off the light?" Kai asked back.

"No, but since you mention it…" Rei retorted, a bit nerved at how Kai knew what he was thinking, and left his sentence open for Kai to reply.

A few seconds passed and Rei could hear (or practically visualize) Kai reaching for his bookmark and closing his book. He turned off the light and Rei wondered if he should chance it.

Hm?

"Goodnight," Rei said quietly.

…

" 'Night."

_XXXX_

The next morning, Rei woke up with a start.

Kai, to his amazement, was still asleep. The older boy was always up before anyone else and it was mostly to go training.

Hm...? It was still dark. He opened the curtains and looked outside. It wasn't cloudy or anything- in fact, it wasn't even dawn yet. Rei gave a quick glance at the clock and slipped out of bed.

3:30 A.M.

_XXXX_

The sun shone in through the curtains and Kai winced at the blinding sun. Hadn't he closed them last night?

He lifted himself up slowly to look over at Rei- seeing as how he was always sleeping in. But he was absent- his bed made like he hadn't slept there all night.

Oh no…

It had suddenly came to him that it was way late in the morning. Everyone was probably training… He wouldn't let Tyson beat him.

He changes his clothes and washed his face. All this while, he was still mad at Rei for not waking him. He sighed- nothing he could do about it anyways.

Before he left, he made sure that Dranzer was safely tucked into his pocket and headed downstairs.

But, he hadn't noticed that Drigger was still on the table next to Rei's bed.

"Wha?" Kai had let slip out of his mouth when he reached the lower level. Tyson and Max were eating cereal- not training like he expected…

"Hey, Kai!" Tyson greeted as he spot the boy. "Whatcha doing sleeping late?"

"It's okay, though," Max said, pushing an empty bowl towards Kai. "Here. I made sure that Tyson didn't eat all of the cereal."

"No, thanks," Kai said carelessly. "I'll get something on the way."

"On the way where?" Max asked.

"To training. I have to make up for the time I slept in." Kai was heading toward the door when he suddenly remembered. "Oh, and tell Rei, "thanks" for waking me up," he said sarcastically.

"Rei? He's not up yet, is he?"

Kai looked at Tyson sharply. "What do you mean? Isn't he training now?"

Tyson and Max gave each other a quick, confused glance. "He didn't even come downstairs to eat…" Max explained, at the same time wondering where Rei could be.

"Hn." At the moment, Kai looked like he no longer had any interest in where the Chinese boy was and headed towards the door with a shrug.

"Like it matters anyway. He _was_ always the weak link."

And that was what set off Tyson's short temper. "How can you say that, Kai!" He stood up an looked like it was going to get violent.

It was until Max stood up and rested his hand on his shoulder. "That was uncalled for, Kai. If he's hurt…" he drifted off, but regained his voice afterwards. "On your way out, try to find him, okay?"

"Sure," Kai said, again sounding like he didn't care. The door closed and Max looked at the clock.

"Hmph. Sometimes I think that Kai doesn't care about any of us. If he wasn't a good blader…" Tyson threatened, slumping back down into his chair and crossing his arms.

"Tyson. Didn't you notice that Kai overslept? It's already 10."

Tyson looked up from his mumbling. "Huh? Yeah, you're right. He _was_ the one who said that we should wake up early for training… " Tyson observed thoughtfully. "He's like born with an internal clock. Weird." A moment of silence, but he soon dismissed his thought. "Well, we better get moving."

"Okay, then. Let me get Dracel and I'll see you outside. "

_XXXX_

Rei's stomach growled and he wished that he had grabbed something to go before he left. Hmm… That looked it a good store….

He decided that he would buy something to eat later- good thing he brought money along. He looked around. It was such a long time since he actually saw Japan. He knew that he would be in trouble with his teammates when he got back, but it was worth it.

As he waited for the walk light to turn green, he spotted a market across the street. It wouldn't hurt if he just took an apple, would it? It wasn't like anyone would notice anyhow…

He smiled and crossed the street, walking slowly to get lost in the crowd.

He smiled and quickly reached out his hand and just as quickly recoiled it- the apple tucked safely into his pocket. Only when he was far enough did he chance to eat it.

He didn't know why he stole- he had enough money for a bushel of them.

"I can't do anything about it anyways," Rei reasoned, taking another bite and brushing away any regrets he had. He_ had_ been training his reflexes ever since his took up Beyblading- it would be a shame if he lost his skill.

He finished the rest of his stolen fruit and tossed it away. Just as he did this, he saw Kai walk on the opposite side of the road, waiting until it was safe to cross to his side of the street. He kept walking and hoped that his teammate wouldn't see him. He hurried pass the people walking next to him and once he was sure that Kai was far away, he slowed down.

It was getting too risky to go out. Especially since Kai had a very sharp eye for seeing things other people couldn't.

_XXXX_

"Kai? Did you find- Ah? Rei? You're back!" Max said, dropping his launcher and running towards Rei. He had thought Kai was the one entering through the gate.

"Where have you been? You didn't even come down for breakfast…" Max said, first excitement then disappointment steeping into his voice.

"Heh. Sorry, Max. " Rei looked around. "Where's Tyson?" he asked curiously.

"He's in the kitchen getting a snack. Since it _is_ lunch time," Max said, crossing his arms in a disapproving manner.

"Sorry!" Rei apologized again with a playful laugh. "I was… Well…um. " He stopped to debating whether he should tell Max why he snuck out. He didn't want Max to worry. Last time he went to see Japan, he got a long lecture about going alone in a foreign country. Something like he should have brought Tyson…?

"I just went for some breakfast. I didn't feel like eating cereal since we can eat it everyday," Rei said casually. "We really should take advantage to these authentic Japanese food, Max."

"Well, I see that you didn't bother inviting me along!" Max said, turning away to make his friend feel guiltier than he already felt.

Rei smiled and put his arm around Max's shoulder, ruffling his hair with his other hand. "I'll remember that, okay? I'll invite you next time."

"Alright, " Max gave in, smiling as Rei continued to ruffle his hair. Max couldn't really ever pretend to be mad for long-and if he was, he wasn't one to hold a grudge. Rei knew that and used it for his advantage- in a purely friendly friendship way, of course.

"Good morning. When did you get back?" Tyson said patiently, peering closely at his guilty friend.

'Uhh…" Rei said, he turning around.

"Hehe. Tyson! Sleep well? Good- gotta go and get Drigger! Be right out!" Rei said in a jumble and ran back into the temple.

"Er- did you hear Rei say anything about his absence?" Max asked curiously once he saw that Rei had left. He didn't know whether or not Tyson heard anything. But if he did, he would have said something about getting him some food.

"No, not really. I just knew he was talking to you," Tyson said, just as casually as Rei had. "What- do you think I freaked him out of something?"

"No, no!" Max said quickly, secretly breathing a sigh of relief. "I was just wondering." He didn't want Rei to get in trouble- since he left without any notice or that he missed training practice.

"He… didn't tell you anything, did he?" Tyson asked.

"No. I…" Max paused, thinking quickly of what his excuse such be, "I told him that he should go get some lunch before training."

"Oh," Tyson said.

"Umm…" Max said since they were just standing there.

"Well… How about a battle? I didn't get to show you how much Dragoon improved yet!" Tyson said, taking out his blade and showing Max the new design color he got installed over the summer.

"Okay. Sure! Dracel hasn't been able to get a good battle in a long time."

They were setting up their blades to battle until a small squeak from the gate made them stop.

"Rei. Is he back?" came Kai's short question.

"Er- yeah. He's upstairs getting Drigger. Hey, where are you going?" Tyson asked angrily. Kai had continued walking to the door- pass the two- and didn't seemto care what Tyson's question to him was.

"To the door, genius," Kai remarked sarcastically.

"Grr… Why you-"

"Tyson! Don't let that get you mad. You know that Kai was just teasing!" Max heard the sliding door close and he sighed heavily. "But I would like to know what is going on between those two… They've been acting very strangely," Max said thoughtfully, referring to Kai and Rei.

"Yeah, well.." Then suddenly Tyson said, "You're right, Max- I've been over reacting too much. Let's just battle," Tyson said with a shrug. "I'm curious to see Dracel!"

"But- Um… Alright, then," Max said perplexed. Tyson wasn't really the one to admit anything if it was against him. And if that ever did happen, you would have probably beaten him up or something.

_XXXX_

"Man… I'm so hungry…" Rei complained as he headed towards his bedroom. He knew that he told Max that he had already ate, but that was the best he could think of.

"I'll just get Drigger and good downstairs for a snack," Rei decided. "Now… where are you?"

Rei looked next to his bed and on the floor to see if he dropped it. Hm… He closed his eyes and tried to replay yesterday's events. He went up stairs and took a shower… he remembered not wanting to get Drigger wet so he left his blade…

"Ha! Drigger! There you are!" Rei said, smiling as he spotted his blade on top of the drawer. He picked up Drigger and was about to leave when he saw his book barely sticking out of his covers.

Someone's coming, he thought, his instinct reacting quickly to the sound of someone ascending up the stairs.

He quickly took his blade from the drawer and made it appeared that he was just coming out of his room, shining his blade carfully as he did.

"Hi, Kai," Rei greeted quickly, wanting to go and get some lunch. He walked pass him, but Kai's voice stopped him.

"You seem to be busy this morning. Where did you go?"

"To get some breakfast," Rei lied, repeating the same story he told Max. It wasn't like they knew what time he woke up- but Kai? Maybe he knew…

"Really? Then we'll go and train right now since you missed the morning session." Kai had this tone to him and made it sound like a "I- know- where- you- where" sort of thing.

"Ah…" Rei said hesitantly. He truthfully didn't eat anything this morning and he had missed lunch- but Kai was getting suspicious when he didn't answer.

"Yeah, okay then."

"Hn." Kai stayed where he was. "I thought that you didn't eat anything so I brought you some food. But you already said you ate…"

Rei tried not to put on an accountable face, but his stomach was wildly complaining on the mentioning of food. "Egh… Yeah, well," was all he could say- his walk around Tokyo leading to his exhaustion.

"It's down in the kitchen," Kai said, turning away from the Chinese boy, and picking up his launcher on the night stand. Rei blinked, watching Kai curiously, before smiling gratefully. Kai wasn't as bad as he made out to be.

"Thanks. But don't tell the others. Max would freak if he found out, " Rei said, humor steeping into his voice as he talked. A moment later he left, Kai's gaze following after him.

_XXXX_

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